Even though the immediate effect probably goes to TJ Ford (he's been awe-inspiring at certain points this season), I think Bassy's more primed for a breakout than any other point guard. Sebastian Telfair has all the tools to make it big: he's athletically gifted, his knowledge of the game is special, and he comes from a basketball family (his older bro led the Big East in scoring... or the Pac-10, I forget... and, of course, his cuz, Starbury, is huge in the league). Also, the Trailblazers are a very post-oriented team, revolving around Zack Randolph when he's in the lineup, which takes a lot of pressure off Telfair. I think Bassy's a future star in the league... anybody else?

PS: I didn't list Chris Paul because everybody's on his nuts this season and I'm tired of hearing about him.

PPS: I didn't list Monta Ellis, either, because I think his future lies moreso as a backup shooting guard, due to the fact that he can score in bunches, but is a distributing retard.

From that list, only Livingston (who is the most talented, but also an injury waiting to happen) and Ford are decent enough to be starters right now. I think Telfair will be a decent starter with time (once he learns to shoot and develops some kind of defense).

The others are good role players, better suited coming from the bench... except Marcus Banks. He'd be a right fit in the NBDL.

Yeah, I totally disagree. The only reason Marcus Banks has bad career numbers for the Celtics is cause he never got any playing time. It's pretty much the story of his career, so far. He never averaged more than 17 minutes a game in Boston.

While on Minnesoda, he's averaging 12 points, 5 dimes, and 1.5 steals (shooting 49% from the field)! And things you won't find on a boxscore or stat-sheet include his tough-as-nails man-to-man defense, lightening quickness, and energy at the point. Ricky Davis was the best player the T-Wolves recieved, but Marcus Banks was a diamond in the rough. People hate giving the guy credit, but it's the truth.

Just ask Andre Miller. Against the Nuggets, Banks had another 17 and 7 game (on 7/12 shooting)... but the other story of the night was that he forced Andre Miller to shoot 6/15 and throw away SIX turnovers! The man's like the point guard version of Artest; his offensive numbers are impressive alone, but when you look at how violated his opponenets numbers are, you really see his value. Lets look at a few other players who tried to slide by Marcus Banks:

- White Chocolate went 2/9 with 3 turnovers (he also split time with The Glove, who was 0/3 and committed 3 turnovers).

even though i didnt see tonight's game, CP3 put up ungodly numbers. 2nd triple-double in 3 games. there is a reason everyone is riding this kid, he is the real deal. he's not on the level of jason kidd, but he does a lot of things very, very well.

16.41 points
5.29 rebounds
8.0 assists
2.33 steals

these ranks are before tonight's game...

Ranks #7 in the NBA in Assists Per Game
Ranks #2 in the NBA in Steals Per Game
Ranks #17 in the NBA in Free Throws
Ranks #6 in the NBA in Assists
Ranks #1 in the NBA in Steals
Ranks #6 in the NBA in Assists Per Turnover
Ranks #8 in the NBA in Steals Per Turnover
Ranks #17 in the NBA in Free Throws Per 48 Minutes
Ranks #7 in the NBA in Assists Per 48 Minutes
Ranks #2 in the NBA in Steals Per 48 Minutes
Ranks #18 in the NBA in Efficiency Ranking
Ranks #16 in the NBA in Efficiency Ranking Per 48 Minutes

Oh, I respect the hell out of him. But that's why I didn't list him in the poll. Paul would have ran away with it and it wouldn't have been much of a topic. Its no fun when everybody (myself included) votes for the same guy.

#32 wrote:Yeah, I totally disagree. The only reason Marcus Banks has bad career numbers for the Celtics is cause he never got any playing time. It's pretty much the story of his career, so far. He never averaged more than 17 minutes a game in Boston.

While on Minnesoda, he's averaging 12 points, 5 dimes, and 1.5 steals (shooting 49% from the field)! And things you won't find on a boxscore or stat-sheet include his tough-as-nails man-to-man defense, lightening quickness, and energy at the point. Ricky Davis was the best player the T-Wolves recieved, but Marcus Banks was a diamond in the rough. People hate giving the guy credit, but it's the truth.

Just ask Andre Miller. Against the Nuggets, Banks had another 17 and 7 game (on 7/12 shooting)... but the other story of the night was that he forced Andre Miller to shoot 6/15 and throw away SIX turnovers! The man's like the point guard version of Artest; his offensive numbers are impressive alone, but when you look at how violated his opponenets numbers are, you really see his value. Lets look at a few other players who tried to slide by Marcus Banks:

- White Chocolate went 2/9 with 3 turnovers (he also split time with The Glove, who was 0/3 and committed 3 turnovers).

And the list goes on... If I was to pick a 2nd choice on this list, it would be Marcus Banks. He's the most under-rated PG in the NBA.

Ok, then. I'm a Marcus Banks hater. Sue me.

But when he does something remarkable in the league, other than get good numbers for a losing team, let me know. He's the second coming of Troy Hudson, a guy who looks good and has great numbers, while making his team lose.

Well, TMC, it's easy to say "he puts up good numbers on bad teams" when he's a young kid who's only played for the Celtics and T-Wolves! That's the same as saying "Garnett puts up good numbers on a bad team."

If you can't see the upside to players like Telfair and Banks, than maybe your argument's justified... but this thread is all about upside! Like I said, if this were all about "who's the best PG now out of this short list", than of course players like Telfair and Calderon wouldn't even be close. But this is about whose going to stir things up in the next 5-10 years (possibly even on a different team). The three guys who are eventually going to become top 10 PG's in the league are Marcus Banks, Sebastian Telfair, and TJ Ford. Right now, they'd struggle to hit the Top 15... but in a few years (when Kidd is long gone, Nash has lost his speed, and Chris Paul is winning league MVP's), who knows?

I like Banks because he plays fiery defense, has the potential to (both) score in bunches and become an assist-machine, and is one of the quickest players in the NBA.

To address your pick from the list, I (personally) would have ranked Livingston my last choice from above. Aside from being an oversided mismatch at the point spot, where's HIS upside? He's not a defensive lockout, he's never scored more than 20 points, and his assist numbers are undeniably sporadic (see March 26-31... his assists went from 5 to 0 to 6). Would you care to explain your reasoning as to how Shaun Livingston is going to be a better player than Marcus Banks or Sebastian Telfair?

Shaun's been hurt alot in his career so its hindered his developement, but asides from that, the game comes easily to him...silky smoothe... just wait till he toughens up and EB's/Cassell's swagger rubbs off on him. ---***030***---